Refrigerator evaporator



June l1, 1929- c. L. HElsLER l REFRIGRTOR EVAPORATOR Filed May 21, 1926 Inventor y ,m Hi t L m 51S QM/H .Patente-d `lune lll,

UNITED STATESI CHARLES L. HEISLEIL OF'SGHENECTADY,

1,717.20 PATENT oFFicE.

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELEN TRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION F NEW YRK. v

REFRIGERATO Applicatiomled May 21 My invention relates to refrigerting lapparatus and particularly to an evaporator or boiler in which a liquid refrigerant is vapor- ,izcd by the absorption of heat from the surrounding medium. An object of-my invention is the provision of an improved evapora tor whose construction is con'ipact and durable, which iselicient in operation and which may be manufactured at a relatively iow cost.

My invention will. be better understood -from the following description taken in con-` nection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

hReferring' to the drawing, Fig. 1 isa perspective view of an evaporator embodying my invention with parts broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction; Fig. 2 is a detail; Fig's. 3, 4 and 5 are side views of modified forms; and Fig. 6 illustrates by way of example the evaporator comprising my invention installed in a refrigerator.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing the evaporator is shown comprising a header land two shelflike members 2 and 3. These members each .comprise a pair of sheet metal plates, an upper and a lower plate, spaced from each other for Aexample by. welding, and the space bej tween the plates of each pair is in directcom, munication with the interior of thelieader. I n order that the refrigerant may freely circulate between the hmider and theseveral passages formed the plates and ribs the ribs are/preferably discontinued at the'ends of the shelves adacent the header. i

In Fig. l the-plates ofone shelf are shown' lcontinuous with those-of the next shelf, that is, the top plate of'upper shelf 2 is continu,- ous with the bottomplate of lower shelf 3 and f the' bottom plateof upper shelf 2 is continuousfwith thetop plateof lower shelf 3. ThisV construction vmay expeditiously be fashioned by'first securing ythe plates ofthe two shelves to the marginal'spacing" strips14 and ribs 5 and then bending thestructure thus formed.

l double. The evaporator thus formed profvidesfor the f r'ee circulation of the refrigerant therein through the shelves in series. In the modification illustrated inFig'.,4, 'the two a EvAroRAToR.

, 192e. serial No. 110,647.

shelves 2 and 3 are shown connected togethe;- by nipples 7, thereby also permitting the free circulation of the refrigerant. Where a greater number -of shelves is desired they obviously may be connected together by suitably afranged nipples 7 or if the continuous type of construction shown in Fig. 1 is desired the several shelves may be formed by' bending back and forth the previously built-up plate structure 8 so as to circulate the refrigerant therethrough in series, as shown for example 1n Fig. 5, the structure being in communication with the header only at its two ends although it maybe anchored to the header if desired at an intermediate portion as at 9.

By forming the evaporator with substantially horizontal shelf-like portions containing liquid refrigerant the cooling of material" which is adapted to be placed on the shelves and particularly. when the material can be placed between two adjacent shelves is greatly facilitated. I have shown for example inFigs. 3 and 5 an evaporator each lof whose shelves support two trays 10 such as are commonly usedfor freezing ice cubes. It will be noted that in the case of the trays resting on any but they upper shelf heat is wit-hdrawn from the trays from both below and above, the trays being substantially sur rounded by portions `of the evaporator. Freezing of ice cubes in these'traysis therem by made possible in only a fraction of the time heretofore required. l

Liquid refrigerant may be supplied to the evaporator by the pipey 12 andthe fiow oflrefrigerant may be controlled by the valve l13 which is actuated by the lever 14 pivotedV to the float 15. The valve, lever, and -float are all arranged within'the header l, the float being constructed vto open the valve `when the liquid refrigerant level falls below a predeterniined point. I

withdrawn from the header through pipe 17. The header l serves also as a separator for the lubricating oil carried along .with lthe lliquid refrigerant. the header being' provided with a cated at 19 inFig. 3. The pipe 17 by which the vaporized refrigerant is withdrawn-also carriesjafway tlie oil and in order to limit the flow of oil to the54 compressor when the same is started after a period of idleness lduring which a considerable quantity of oil may collect, the upper end of p i-pe 17 is provided with a slot 20 which runs down approximately to Vaporized refrigerant is ve5 f a dome 18 in which the oil collects as indi'- the point at which it is desired fp maintain the level of the oil in the header. This arrangement of the outlet pipe forms no part of my invention, and is described and claimed in the application of C. Steenstrup, Serial No. 109,9G0,tiled May 18, 1926, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present ap-v plication.

For the purpose of catching the drip from the evaporator when it is defrosted I have providedl a tray 22 which is shown secured to the bottom plate 23 of the header and to which is connected the drip pipe 2-1 which may lead off to a suitable receptacle or to a sewer. The bottom plate 23 is shown in Fig. 2. having a groove 25 on its under surface by which the drip is lcd to the mouth of the tube 24. The shelves are shown having a slight inclination whereby the drip will flow to a position where it will be caught by the drip tray. In Fig. 6 I have shown b v wa)v of illustration only an evaporator in accordance with my invention arranged in a refrigerator box 26 in the base of which is located the mechanism 27 to which lead pipes l2 and 17 and by which the vaporized refrigerant is compressed and liquefied. Pipes 12,' 17 and 24 are shown en closed by a tubular casing 28 where they pass through the refrigerator box. Obviously the mechanism 27 may be arranged at a point remote from the refrigerator box if desired.

.What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is.-

l. A refrigerator evaporator comprising a plurality of refrigerant containing shelves arranged one above the other and adapted to support material to be cooled, means for connecting said shelves to provide for circulation of the refrigerant therethrough in series, and means for supplying `liquid refrigerant thereto and for withdrawing vaporized refrigerant therefrom.

25A refrigerator evaporator comprising a plurality of pairs of spaced plates. the pairs of plates be-ing connected with each other atv A one portion thereof and a header connected therewith at another portion thereof.

. 3. A refrigerator evaporator comprising a pair of spaced plates forming a refrigerant containing receptacle,a similar pair of spaced plates arranged below the first pair of plates and forming a receptacle adapted to support material to be cooled, vandmeans for connecting the receptacles together to provide for circulation ofthe refrigerant therethrough in series.

4. A' refrigerator evaporator comprising pairs of spaced plates, the pairs of plates be` ing 'arranged one above the other to form shelves adapted to support 4material to be cooled, said pairs of plates being connected together at one end, land a header connecting the pairs of plates together at the other end.

5. A refrigerator evaporator comprising a pluralityof superposed pairs of spaced plates having terminal portions connected together to forma series path for the circulation of refrigerant adapted to be contained therein, and a. header connected therewith at points corresponding to the ends of said series path. i (i. A refrigerator evaporator comprising refrigerant.containing shelves, a header connecting said shelves forming a float chamber, a valve for admitting liquid refrigerant to the evaporator, and a float for cont-rolling said valve arranged in said float chambers.

7. A refrigerator evaporator comprising a header, a plurality of shelf-like members connected thereto, a drip pan secured to the headerfbeneath the shelf-like members and means for withdrawing water collected by said drip pan.

8. In a mechanical refrigerating system, a U-shaped refrigerant expander unit including a container for refrigerant comprising sheet metal plates spaced apart and affording a chamber therebetween, to thus form said container, the legs of said U-shaped eX- pander being spaced to receive an ice tray therebetween supported on the top surface of the lower leg of said expander when said legs extend horizontally one above the other.

9. In a mechanical refrigerating system, a refrigerant expander unit including two sheet metal plates spaced apart and bent to form a container of substantially U shape, the legs of said container being spaced to form a tray receiving recess therebetween, and spacing means intermediate the peripheral edges of said plates within said container.

10. Inl mechanicalrefriweratinfrs steuna plates within said container, and means associated `with said container for connection with a refrigerant circuit. y In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this17 th day of May, 1926. n

' CHARLES L. HEISLER. 

